A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

718 SASSANIDAE. SASSAN IDAE.
were perpetrated against the Christians in that Great; but according to the Persian historians,
country a'so; and the hostility which had existed who, in matters of genealogy, deserve full credit,
between Rome and Persia ever since the death of he was the son of one Shapur Zulaktaf, a royal
Constantine, was now changed into a war of exter- prince. Shapur was anxious to be on good terms
mination. An account of these wars has been with the emperor Theodosius the Great, and sent
given in the lives of the emperors Constantius II. a solemn embassy with splendid presents to him at
and his successors. We shall therefore only men- Constantinople, which was returned by a Greek
tion a few additional facts. Prince Hormisdas embassy headed by Stilicho going to Persia. Owing
mentioned above was in the Roman army, and to these diplomatic transactions, an arrangement
fought valiantly against his countrymen, whence was made in 384, according to which Armenia and
we may conclude that, had Constantius reaped Iberia recovered their independence.
laurels instead of thistles in this war, he would 12. BAHRAM or VARANES IV., reigned from
have put the fugitive prince on the throne of A. D. 390-404, or perhaps not so long. He was
Persia. Sapor, although victorious in the open the brother of Sapor III., and founded Kermanfield, could do nothing against the strong bulwarks shah, still a flourishing town. This is recorded in
of Nisibis and other fortresses, and consequently an inscription on a monument near Kermanshah,
derived no advantages from his victories. The which has been copied by European travellers, and
conquest of Armenia was his only trophy; in his translated by Silvestre de Sacy.
bloody zeal against the Christians in that country, 13. YEZDIJIRD, or JESDIGERD I. ('I1e0-3Yp87s),
he went so far as to order all Armenian and Greek surnamed ULATHIM, or the SINNER, the son or
books to be burnt, but even the barbarous murder brother of the preceding, reigned from A. D. 404,
of his (only?) son, who had accidentally been or earlier, to 420 or 421. He is commonly called
made a prisoner by the Romans, and was put to Yesdigerd. He stood on friendly terms with the
death by order of Constantins, could not justify emperor Arcadius, who, it is said, appointed him
the still more savage conduct of Sapor against so the guardlul, of his infant son and successor,
many innocent and defenceless Christians. Theodosius thte Younger. We refer to the life of
In 358, Constantius sued for peace, but was Arcadius for more information respecting this
startled when the Persian ambassador, Narses, de- strange story. Yesdigerd is described by the
livered in Constantinople the conditions of Sapor, Eastern writers as a cruel and extravagant man,
who demanded only Mesopotamia, Armenia, and whose death was hailed by his subjects as a blessthe five provinces beyond the Tigris, although ing, but the Western writers speak of him as a
as the legitimate successor of Cyrus, he said that model of wisdom and moderation. If the latter
he had a right to all Asia and Europe as far as the are right, they had perhaps in view the peace of a
river Strymon in Macedonia. Constantius en-'hundred years, which, through the instrumentality
deavoured to obtain better terms; but the negotia- of the empress Pulcheria, Arcadius is said to have
tions of his ambassadors in Persia were frustrated concluded with him. But if we admit the correctness
through intrigue and perfidy; and the war was of the former opinion, we are at a loss to explain it,
continued as before, and with the same disadvan- unless we presume that the Persian fireworshiptage to the Romans. In 359, Sapor took Amida pers cast disgrace upon the name of their sovereign
by storm, and Singara, Berabde, and other places because he showed himself cruel against the Chrisyielded to him in the following year. The death tians, and this we can hardly admit. It is more
of Constantius and the accession of Julian made probable that he was represented as a tyrant, in
no change. The fate of Julian is known. He consequence of having dealt severely with the
might have avoided it by accepting the proposals of powerful aristocratic party. As to the Christians,
peace which Sapor made him immediately after his he was for several years their decided friend, till
accession, but he nobly rejected them, and caused Abdas, bishop of Susa, wantonly destroyed a firehis ruin although he did not deserve it. Jovian, temple, and haughtily refused to rebuild it when
to secure his own accession, made that famous the king ordered him to do so. His punishment
tleaty with Sapor for which he has been blamed so was death, and one or two (Sozom. ix. 4) persecumuch, and ceded to him the five provinces beyond tions ensued against the Christians.
the Tigris, and the fortresses of Nisibis, Singara, 14. BAHRAM or VARANES V., surnamed Govu,
&c. Iberia and Armenia were left to their fate; or the " WILD Ass," on account of his passion for
and were completely reduced by Sapor in 365, and the chase of that animal, reigned from A. D. 420 or
the following year. A war with the Caucasian 421 till 440. He was the eldest son of Yesdinations, occasioned through the subjugation of Ar- gerd I., and inherited from him the hatred of the
menia, and another with the Arsacidae in distant aristocracy, who tried, but in vain, to fix the
Bactria, which might have had its cause in the diadem on the head of Chosroes or Khosrew, a royal
same circumstance, filled the latter years of the prince. In their civil contest Bahram was vicreign of Sapor, who died in 381. Sapor has been torious. The persecutions against the Christians
surnamed the Great, and no Persian king had ever were continued by him to such an extent, that
caused such terror to Rome as this monarch. thousands of his subjects took refuse within the
10. ARDISHIR or ARTAXERXES II., the suc- Roman donminions. He showed the same intolecessor of Sapor the Great, reigned from A. D. 381 rant and fanatical spirit towards the Arsacid
-385. He was a prince of royal blood, but his Ardishir or Artaxerxes, whom he had put on the
descent is doubtful, and he was decidedly no son of throne of Armenia, and whom he endeavoured to
Sapor. The peace of 363 being strictly kept by the convert by compulsion. Seeing his dominions deRomans, he had no pretext for making war upon populated by a constant tide of emigration, he
them, if he felt inclined to do so, and we pass on to claimed his fugitive subjects back from Constan11. SHAPUR or SAPOR III., who reigned from tinople, a demand which Theodosius nobly declined
A. D. 385-390. According to Agathias (iv. to comply with. The consequence was a war,
p. 136, ed. Paris) he was the son of Sapor the which broke out in 421, or at least shortly after